Scarcity of the wealthy

Drive two hours west from here, and you'll be stunned by the opulence. The Biltmore Estate, constructed by the Vanderbilt family, is 176,826 sq ft. It holds 250 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces.

I stumbled onto a short documentary about the Vanderbilts that caught my interest. It reflected the tragedy of this formerly prominent family. At one time, they were among one of the wealthiest families in the world.

And yet, that was never enough for this family that spent themselves in the shadows.

Why?

Scarcity. Enough was never enough for them. Same for me.

As a society, we haven't escaped this snare. Sure, their scale was magnificent, but the same mindset was maintained.

We live in a society that promotes perpetual scarcity, shame and lack. Does any of this sound familiar to you:

"If you don't take action now, you'll miss out."
"If you don't buy this product, you'll stay poor."
"You're poor because you don't do XYZ."
"I'd better grab that limited-time offer before it disappears."
"If you want to get ahead of the competition, you need this."
"Don't get left behind in the AI race."

As a business owner, I know this culture has informed our beliefs about business. Those beliefs have been shaped by scarcity, lack and fear.

I was a peddler.

However, I no longer want to live in a world of scarcity, lack, or shame. Scarcity and lack create fear. Fear creates harm. That harm is driven by greed, and the greed-driven person always looks for a license to take from someone else, no matter the cost.

I see now that we live under one of two worldviews:

1. Scarcity: there is not enough

2. Abundance: there is enough

Hoarding and endless consumption are rooted in a scarcity worldview.

Monopolies and empires are built on the ideology of greed and power. Greed and power exploit others for their gain. It doesn't consider the good of others. Only what it can get.

A person or business with an abundant worldview seeks to give rather than take. How? They have enough, and they share it out of their surplus.

My life has been steeped in scarcity. Even when I had tons of cash flow, a large business, and much to be proud of, I lived in internal scarcity. A scarcity worldview sees everything in short supply. Scarcity, greed and fear are all interconnected.

Here are the reasons we use fear, scarcity, and shame. And a call to consider something different.

First, the ones leveraging fear, scarcity, and shame to get from others live under their rule. They are not free. The point of weaponizing fear, scarcity, and shame is to gain and take. To achieve an elevated societal position or to gain monetarily. Without much consideration for negative consequences to another person.

We leverage fear, scarcity and shame because we think it will give us control. Control over our situation and control over others. If we can bend the world, the markets, the customers, the clients, and our families to our will, then by having that power and control, we might find safety and security.

Control is an illusion.

We think we're the gods of our lives, but we're not. We believe we can orchestrate everything from how much our business grows to the self-image management we strive for.

"If it's meant to be, it's up to me."

Have you ever heard that? That mindset is perversive in our entrepreneurial community. That perspective is directly connected to a scarcity worldview. We think we are the makers of our own lives and, therefore, will easily fall into the trap of leveraging whatever is required to exert that control, even if it's by "harming" our neighbor.

How do we make the shift from scarcity to abundance?

Come under the rule of abundance. My experience hasn't been as easy as flipping a switch. It's been a process. Scarcity chases you. It's all around us. I was intensely self-reliant, living under the rule of fear and scarcity. Worldly abundance was all around, yet I lived in the pit of scarcity. The significant change for me was discovering God-abundance.

David’s reflection in the Psalm, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." It is becoming my reality.

It's a belief that there is a God who cares and provides, and if I let go of control (being my god), and trust him, he'll take care of me. As I've adopted this mindset, I can't express the fullness, peace, and contentment I've found in this process. The scholar Paul talks about even suffering and having peace that transcends understanding.

No mansion or gold bullion is required. Good news.

Our belief system(s) inform how we move in this world. If we believe it's all up to us, we'll run ourselves into the ground. (hand raised) If we think there's not enough, we'll accumulate and hoard even when we have so much surplus.

What about you? Do you live in shame, fear, and scarcity? Are you scared you'll never have enough?

If so, take heart. This message is true and like a cool spring to the soul. Pursuing more isn't required for a whole heart, peace and abundance. ;)

Here are some practices to move from scarcity to abundance:

Daily reflection: Reflect on how much abundance you live in. Write down at least one thing you have enough on. What you think about becomes your reality.

Business Application: Review your marketing messages - are they built on creating fear and urgency? Is it legitimate or false?

Relationship Practice: Notice when you withhold knowledge, connections, or resources from others out of fear.

Decision Framework: Create a personal "enough" metric for different areas of your life.

Environmental Shifts: Do you consume, entertain or listen to people who perpetuate scarcity, lack and fear? If so, make a change.

Spiritual Practice: Practice the sabbath - regular periods where you produce and consume nothing. You rest and enjoy the abundance you've been given.

The Vanderbilt family could never get enough. With all the opulence, they had a craving they couldn’t tame. Are we too dissimilar at our level as entrepreneurs?

Food for thought. What are yours?

Let me know below, or drop me a reply.

Much love,

C